Free town park plan
Wednesday 9th September 2009, 3:00PM BST.
If it goes ahead, the Town Park will be built on Gas Place car park
Ministers are looking at building houses on part of the Millennium Town Park site so developers and not taxpayers will pay for it, it has been revealed.
If houses were built, the park on the site of the Gas Place car parks would be far smaller than previously envisaged.
The new scheme is part of the north of town masterplan, which is a blueprint for the redevelopment of the whole area around Gas Place and Ann Court.
Its details have been revealed by St Helier Constable Simon Crowcroft. He said that selling land to ‘greedy developers’ to provide the town park at no cost to the taxpayer was ‘not what we signed up for’.
Next week, the north of town masterplan will be revealed to States Members. It shows the Millennium Park on the existing car parks, plus a line of three-storey houses along the northern side of the Talman site – the private car park - and housing on three sides of Gas Place car park.
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I agree this will be a great idea to relieve the tax payer of the bill. My only critism is why do they need to get a developer to build it why can the states not build the houses with the park and then sell the houses at their market value.
Why do we have to let a company like dandara build a substandard park and houses that the tax payer will nodoubt have to repair in years to come…
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There is no way a park was ever going to be built on a prime piece of real estate in the centre of town – it was never going to happen.
Now what, lets build some houses and a small park, then a smaller one, then the kids can play in a designated section of the back garden of a house.
Give it to Dandara, they have all the other prime sites.
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Teah OK lets put a bit of park on every site to be redeveloped.
This just feels like a developer has waited till they got their hands on our park site.
OK while were are it lets make the new esplanade quarter half park.
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Whilst it is too early to say that this plan is fundamentally flawed, we need to actually see the designs first, I and many others who campaigned to have this densely populated part of town turned into a green lung will doubtless feel let down, once again, by a government that knows the cost of everything and the value of nothing.
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No houses should be built on this site, it was designated an open space for the town park. .
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Lets see which States Members vote for this?
I can not believe that over 11 years ago this land was earmarked for the people of Jersey for the Millennium….and its still a car park!
If you keep giving prime land to developers then you will end up with nothing left to build on and no open space.
Jersey will end up like Bermuda who are thenselves in the process of trying to build a new hospital in on the site of their botanical gardens!!
keep your promises and give it to the people.
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changing the goalposts again to suit their whims.
We signed for a park not more housing.
the way they are going soon there will be a mass exodus so we will be left with more empty propery and a ghost town.
those of us that are left here will pay the price for their folly.
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Toatlly misleading headline, the park would not be free or ‘at no cost to the taxpayer’ – it would cost the equivalent of the market value of the development land given to the developer.
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Lots of houses and a tiny park.
At this rate there will be quite a few States members taking the same road as Senator Vibert and Deputy de Faye at the next election.
It is cold when you get off the gravy train so time to start polishing the CV and looking around.
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Jersey thinks small hence the plan for a small park is aligned with the overall strategy.
Other small things in Jersey:
- small parishes
- small recycling scheme in each of them
- large number of small car parks
- etc
name other small things in Jersey!?
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You are all being schmoozed and massaged into submission…another deal for developers!!!…the greed here knows no boundaries…the people must speak out and the answer must be a resounding NO..NO…NO.tarting the idea up to look like a good deal…..
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Surely then if this park is built and surrounded by houses, those who live in the houses would claim it as there own and it would NOT be a town park!!! The land was put forward for a green area and yet once again the states will change it to suit!! We already have enough houses and flats empty without building more!! We need somewhere for our kids to be able to run and play!!
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Correction – Developers will not PAY for the land – they will PROFIT from it hugely. St Helier is already massively overbuilt so give the residents, many of whom are stuck in flats or bedsit land, with no gardens, a Park. Can the States do something for the people for once and not the profiteers!!!
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these people that suggest building houses round the perimiter of the town park live in a country parish will agree to anything as long as it does not interfere with their smug lives.
I doubt if they would ever use the park.
If the states want to build more housing i suggest ST.JOHNS and ST.MARY,S which are vastly underpopulated where as ST. HELIER is already well overcrowded.
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Pathetic!
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That’s a great idea – let the developers pay for it. There’s a beautiful park just up the road anyway – Howard Davies Park. We don’t need another one!
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Why not just smarten the area up as a car cark, like the esplanade car park and plant a few trees. That way the space repains open, it would continue to provide a much needed parking facility and the revenue from the parking makes it self funding.
Ah but there are plans to build on the Esplanade car park I believe !
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What we have to remember is the reason why the masterplanners were brought in to look at this area of town.
Whilst 16000 people signed for a town park, they did this on the understanding that there would be underground parking replacing the parking lost of the surface.
The States then did a U turn and decided instead to propose an 800 speace car park at Ann Court; a car park bigger than pier road and right in the centre of town which will cause misery for residents and road users. And not just residents in the immediate vicinity, the traffic implications will affect a far larger area.
Unfortunately, the States, as there isn’t the money to fund an underground car park at gas place, are now having to juggle the needs of the town stakeholders – residents, commuters, shoppers, shop keepers etc. and when you have that many people to keep happy, there’s always going to be a compromise
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There is much too much traffic in town as it is,without putting more car parks.
Green street car park is nearly always half empty as is patriotic street and pier road
put a better bus service in town and build a car park alongside the bus station,instead of another carbuncle.
Every foreward thinking town has park and ride to keep the traffic in town to the minimum.
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They are already building flats in St Saviour’s Road without any parking at all because there will be parking at the new Ann Street car park. Unless there is a major public outcry it’s a done deal.
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Why on earth are they building flats on St. Saviour’s Road without any parking facility? This is 2009 every household is entilted to a parking space! Who is making these dreadful decisions???
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Earlier this year, we collected 3500 signatures against the car park at Ann Court which is shortly to be presented to the States. Whilst this isn’t the 16000 sigs that was collected for the town park, you have to remeber that the town park petition was collected over about two years whilst the car park signatures were collected in only a few weeks. It was at a public meeting in February at which there was outcry at the proposed car park that it was announced that Senator Cohen was to commission the North of Town Masterplan.
Consequently, I think you can say there is public outcry at the proposed Ann COurt car park and, I understand, the masterplan has provided suggested solutions.
In respect of the properties being built at St Saviour’s Road, there should be sufficient parking for all uints of new developments but of course, there never is. Questions should be raised if planning permission was granted for this development based on the fact the the Ann COurt car park would be approved. If this was the case, then it is wrong as it would suggest, as you say, that the departments involved already consider the car park to be a done deal with no planning process or public consultation.
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Well said Bella, and good park and ride scheme combats many of life’s problems. Thing is it should be kept cheap (like the Oxford one was for a long-time, if it isn’t still). A lot of the brought in finance workers are given flats in town to rent, just need to find a way to help the other workers.
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there is no free lunch.
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I really think we need to usurp this government before they damage this island any further.
We should then exile all the incompetent politicians who have completely ignored the public whom they serve to the Minquiers or somewhere else less hospitable!
This island is led by imbeciles….I was going to say monkees, but they are intlelligent creatures !!
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